Sheet-feeding mechanism



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-98M 1. B. F. BARNES 8n J. G. SMITH:

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM. No. 503,276. Patented Aug. 15, 1893.

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B. F. BARNES & J. G. SMITH. SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

No. 503,276. Patented Aug. 15, 1893.

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Patented Aug-15, 1893.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BURR FRANK BARNES AND JACOB G. SMITH, OF OIROLEVILLE, OHIO.

SHEET-FEEDING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,276, dated August 15, 1893.

Application filed October 22, 1892. Serial No. 449,682. (No model.)

To a. whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Bonn FRANK BARNES and JACOB G. SMITH, citizens of the United States, residing at Oircleville, in the county of Pickaway and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Feeding Mechanism; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of our invention is to provide an automatically operated mechanism for feeding or delivering blank sheets of paper to a printing press, and to this end the said invention consists in the mechanism and the parts thereof constructed and combined substantially as hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is aside elevation of our apparatus. Fig. 2,is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3isa detailplan view upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 4, is a detail section upon the line so, a: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5, is a like View upon the line y, y of Fig. 3. Fig. 6, is a vertical section of the entire machine. Fig. 7, is a horizontal section. Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of the worm-shaft shifting device.

O'ur object, more essentially, is to make certain improvements on the apparatus set forth in our pending application, Serial No. 437,128, filed J nne18, 1892,1ookingto the simplification thereof. As in such machine we employ an open frame or support A, rectangular in plan, movable up and down, in which is a table or platform 13 to hold the blank paper to be fed a sheet at a time to the platen of a printingpress. Said table is supported at its center iipon a vertical screw 0 that passes through the threaded center or nut of a worm-wheel D journaled horizontally in a support E in such manner as to be incapable of vertical movement. The rotation of this Wheel effects the raising and lowering of the table B through the screw 0.

To rotate the worm wheel I) a ratchet-wheel F is fixed on the end of a horizontal worm shaft 6, outside of the frameAwhich is given a step by step rotation by means of a pawl it carried by the swinging arm II that is pivoted on the shaft 6. The swinging of the arm H to rotate the ratchet wheel and thus raise the table B to place the paper thereon in position for the action of the feeding and carrying mechanism, to be described, is accomplished by a connection with the printing-press and of course is timed in accordance with the motions of the latter. The connection with the press is effected through a horizontally reciprocable bar I sliding in suitable guides secured to the side of the frame A, with whose rear end the upper end of the arm H engages, and to whose front end is attached one end of a pitman J that at its other end is eccentrically connected to the wheel j of the press. The bar I is also used to move the top sheet from the pile on the table A into position to be caught by the gripping and carrying devices and to move the latter to and from the press. For the former purpose, it has at its front end a vertical projection or extension i, which carries a spring-pressed pawl t" on its inner side whose free end is adapted to engage pins or teeth on the face of a wheel K, and turn the latter a pre-determined extent. Such extent is one quarter of a revolution and four pins are accordingly provided, one of which will be engaged by the pawl at each backward movement of the bar I, and cause the required motion of the wheel. On the return or forward movement of the bar the pawl will simply slip over the pin that happens to be in its path. The wheel K is attached to the end of a shaft L, that extends cross-wise of the machine, above the paper piled on the table B. Carried by said shaft are two feeddevices Z, Z, that engage and move the top sheet from the pile in position to be caught by the gripping and carrying mechanism.

Said feed devices consist each of a disk or wheel having four equi-distant fiat and four equi-distant convex sides, whose curvature is the are of a circle. The curved surfaces only engage the paper, and act to slide the top sheet from the pile, and a flat side is adjacent to the paper when the wheel is in a state of rest, so that the carrying mechanism after gripping the sheet can draw it freely away.

The feed devices are placed upon the shaft in such a manner as to permit them to be moved to and fixed at different points along the same for use with varying widths of paper. This can most easily and in a very ordinary way be done by using a set-screw 2 passing through a hub on each device, whose loosening will free the device from the shaft and permit its movement along the same, and whose tightening will fix it to the shaft.

As the amount of movement ofthe bar I carries the pawl 2' past the wheel K, thelower corner. of the pawl is beveled or cut away, so as to cause the finishing of the quarter revolution of the wheel to be effected by a con tinuing action of the pawl on the engaged pin.

The gripping and carrying devices we employ, are essentially like thoseshown in our application herein referred to, but, as any suitable device of this character will do, we will describe them but briefly. Extending horizontally forward from one side of the frame A to a point over the press platen are two parallel arms M, M, which form. tracks for a sliding block N, that has grooves in its upper and lower edges to engage said arms. Passing through the block and journaled thereby, is a rock-shaft K that extends to a distance on one sideof the same equal to or somewhat greater than the width of the frame A. Secured to this shaft are two L shaped arms a, n having at their angles coils n to render them somewhat elastic. The vertical member of each arm is the one by which it is attached to the shaft, while at the free end of the horizontal member, is a pad 2' of rubber or the like material. Secured to a bar i also supported by the slide block N, and running parallel with the shaft K is a second L shaped arm n the free end of whose horizontal member is adapted to cooperate with the pad 01 to clamp a sheet of paper. Such sheet is held between the upper face of said member and the under face of the pad Z The clamps n, n are adapted to be adjusted along the shaft and bar to accommodate paper of different widths.

The reciprocation of the slide block N, is effected from the bar I by providing the under side of the latter with teeth to engage a gear-segment O journaled on the side of the frame A and having a radial arm 0 that is connected by a pitman P with the block. The connection with thelatter is not direct, however, but to a crank Q on the end of the shaft K outside of the block N. The motion of the crank is limited by two pins r, 'r on opposite sides of it. Thus arranged the first effect of moving the segment 0 is to rock the shaft K and raise or lower the pad 1' from or to the horizontal member of the arm 91 according to whether the block is to move one way or the other. Then on one of the pins 0 7 being engaged by the crank-arm, the movement of the slide-block takes place.

WVhen a sheet of paper is to be carried to the press platen the slide is put at the inner the platen. of the gear-segment 0 will be to raise the arm limit of its motion with the horizontal member of the arm n abutting against the front face near its top of the frame side, and the pad 2' raised therefrom by the means just described. The first movement to take place will be the rocking of the shaft K and the arm n, which will cause the pad 2' to clamp the paper against the horizontal member of the arm M. The outer pin 1' being now engaged, the slide will be moved outward carrying with it the sheet of paper held by the clamps. Before the slide reaches the outer limit of its motion the advance edge of the paper will be caught by the usual gage-pins on the platen, which as the slide continues onward will result in drawing the paper from between the clamps, and cause it to drop on The first effect of the movement a and as it rises from the horizontal member of the arm 12 said member being slightly :elastic, also rises sufficiently to clear the sheet of paper on its return movement for another sheet. 7

To catch and return to its place a sheet of paper which might tend to follow the top sheetwhen moved by the feed devices Z, Zdescribed, we employ mechanism similar to the latter, operating at the rear edge of the paper, and reversely to said devices. Said mechanism consists of a wheelR having pins similar to the wheel K, a shaft S, a wheel 3, like the wheels Z, Z, with fiat and curved faces, and a pawl t to engage the pins of the wheel R. The pawl is secured to abar or rodT attached to and moving with the rack-bar I which bar T slides in a hollow or slotted inclosing bar U that is supported and journaled at its ends in boxes on the frameA, the journaling being for a purpose to appear.

The shaft ,8 is supported and journaled by a frame S that is adjustable along the bar U, to vary the position of the wheel 8 accord ing to the size of thepaperbeingprinted, and in view of the changeability of the wheelR, the pawl t is made adjustable alongthe bar T.

The wheels Z, Z, and s, are caused to rotate reversely by having the pawl to rotate the wheel K of the former by engaging the pins above the center of the wheel and the pawl of the wheel R to engage the pins below the center of the wheel. The wheel K is first engaged and rotates to feed the top sheet, and then by a further movement of the bar I the wheel R is engaged and the wheels is turned from the position with one of its flatsides adjacent to the paper, to cause one of its rounded sides to engage the sheet next to the top, and if it has moved forward, return it to its position against the gage rods 1), b, on the table B like those in the application referred to, and hold it there while top sheet is being caught or clamped by the carrying devices,

.and started forward. It will be understood that a flat side of the wheel 8 is adjacent to the paper when the wheels Z, Z are feeding the top sheet forward. We also use the sheet= returning and folding mechanism just de scribed, in conjunction with the bar to stop the raising of the table B, should the same be lifted too rapidly. This is done by the j ournaling of the barUhereinbefore referred to. Said bar has aprojection it, which is connected by a link a to a pivoted arm or bar V that is adapted to engage the tail h of the pawl h and lift the pawl out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchetwheel. The engagement of the arm V is effected by the rocking of the bar U. This rocking will occur if the table 13 is lifted too high by the engagement of the paper piled thereon with the wheel 3, as will be readily seen.

For the convenient disengagement of the worm on the shaft e from the worm wheel D, as when it is desired to rapidly lower the table B for a new supply of paper, said shaft is journaled so as to be shiftable away from the worm-wheel. Near the end which carries the ratchet-wheel F, the shaft has bearings in a pivoted boxing 6', while its opposite end has a bearing in a sliding block IV, whose opposite sides are grooved to engage suitable guide-ways. The under side of the block WV, is provided with two separated projections to, to, with either of which a cam or eccentric a: mounted on a suitable handle X, is adapted to engage to slide the block to one side or the other and thus carry the worm into or out of engagement with the wheel D.

A suitable pawl is provided for each of the wheels K and R, and the ratchet wheel F, to prevent back motion.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

1. In combination with avertically movable paper support or table, the gearing for raising the same, comprising in part a worm, a pawl and a ratchet wheel for rotatingthe latter, the pawl carrying arm, the sliding bar, the paper-carrying mechanism and connections between said mechanism and said bar through which the latter actuates said mechanism, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a vertically movable table, the gearing for raising the same comprising in part a worm, a pawl and a ratchetwheel to rotate the latter, the pawl carrying arm, the sliding rack-bar, the connection between said arm and said bar, the gear engaged by said bar, the arm on said gear and papercarrying mechanism connected with said arm, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a vertically movable table, the gearing for raising the same, the pawl and ratchet mechanism to actuate said gearing, the sliding rack-bar connected with said mechanism, the carrying mechanism connections between the latter and said rackbar, and the pitman connected to said bar and the moving part of a press to slide the bar, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In combination with asuitable paper sup port, the two sets of reversely rotating wheels having each fiat and convexly curved surfaces, substantially as described.

5. In combination with a paper-s11 pport, the devices to engage and move a sheet of paper from a pile at its forward edge, and reversely acting devices at the rear edge of thepile, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a paper-support the two sets of reversely rotating wheels, having each flat and convexly curved surfaces, the actuating wheel for each set, and the sliding bar having a pawl for each actuating wheel, substantially as described.

7. In combination with the worm wheel the worm shaft, the pivoted journal for the latter the movable block also journaling said shaft and the cam or eccentric to move said block, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

BURR FRANK BARNES. JACOB G. SMITH.

Witnesses:

G. W. BUTLER, W M. W. MILLER. 

